‘If you don’t deal with this soon you are going to die’

James Morrison has touched fans worldwide with his music, but behind his career, the You Give Me Something crooner has faced more than his fair share of hardships.

After finding fame in 2006, the musician, who has had numerous charting singles and five top 10 albums, took a break from the public eye after losing his father, Paul, in 2010.

From 2o22 onwards, with the release of his Greatest Hits album, he has returned to the public eye, but tragedy struck once again when his partner, Gill Catchpole, took her own life in 2024.

Now, nearly two years later, James is set to appear on James Martin’s Saturday Morning cookery show.

Evidently, things haven’t been easy for James. However, through his resilience, he has come out the other side stronger than ever. Here’s what we know about James Morrison’s difficult past.

James lost his father in 2010 (Credit: Cover Images)

Family losses

In 2010, James lost his father, Paul Catchpole. He was an alcoholic and was later ruled to have died of liver failure. “I’d phone him regularly to check he was alive. He wasn’t great as a dad, but I wanted him to be around more,” Morrison said in an interview with the Daily Mail.

“The last time I spoke to him, I said: ‘You’ve got to be the person you should have been all those years ago. You’ve still got time. You can be a grandad and be around a lot more.’ But he’d just say: ‘I don’t need any help.’ A month before [his death], I said: ‘If you don’t deal with this soon you are going to die.’ When he died, I became depressed, crying in bed all day, feeling numb.”

However, the tragedy didn’t end there. James also lost his big brother Alexis and his nephew Callum soon after.

“In the space of three years I lost my dad, Paul, my big brother Alexis, who was 43, and my nephew Callum, who was only 21. Alexis and Callum died just a year apart. After my dad died it was heartbreaking to start losing the next generations.”

James has two children – Elsie and Ada (Credit: Cover Images)

A difficult path to parenthood

James and his late partner, Gill Catchpole, have two children – Elsie and Ada. However, their journey to parenthood was full 0f complications.

When their firstborn, Elsie, arrived, The Mirror reported that she had the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck and was born via an emergency C-section. The traumatic birth led to Gill being hospitalised for 10 days.

Following this, Gill suffered two miscarriages, but the birth of their second child Ada was far from a happy occasion.

She was born 13 weeks premature, and only had a 10% survival rate for her first week.

James added: “Gill was my hero. I’m still so in awe of how she got through it. She’s my rock. I’ve known her since I was playing open mic bars and was a van cleaner. I could never replace her.”

James split with Gill shortly before her death (Credit: Cover Images)

James Morrison loses ex-partner Gill

Sadly, James lost his “rock” last year after Gill tragically took her own life.

The inquest reported how she left a heartbreaking note on the bedroom door reading: “Don’t come in — call the police.”

DS David Kania, who investigated the death, also told how Gill left notes for James, her family and friends.

Shortly before her death, she and James had split up, which, among other things, led to a plummet in her mental health.

Also during the inquest, GP Dr Emma Basker noted how Gill had suffered with “recurring mental ill health” — which was diagnosed as PTSD and anxiety.

“It is quite clear to me that, sadly, at the relevant time Gill was in a difficult place mentally,” Kania concluded. “It is entirely clear to me that the contents of those notes indicate that Gill unfortunately was in a very difficult place at the time of her death. Having reviewed the evidence I have, it seems to me sadly that the appropriate conclusion on the balance of probabilities I will record a conclusion of suicide.”